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Category: Ministry Leadership

Covers topics such as leadership skills, sustainable leadership, women in leadership, leading teams, developing leaders, meetings

11 Great Team Meeting Questions

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

11 Great Team Meeting Questions

Good leaders know to ask questions.  Great leaders know how to ask the right questions.  When you gather your team around the table, it’s crucial to ask the right questions.

Every Tuesday, I gather my team to debrief the previous Sunday and plan for the upcoming week(s).  Debriefing is important to celebrate what went well and to adjust what didn’t.  Planning is important to execute things well and make sure everyone’s on the same page.

In order to debrief well, here are some questions that I might ask:

  • What were the ‘wins’?  What went well?
  • What didn’t go well?  What needs to be improved?
  • What stories did you hear from volunteers, children or parents?
  • Does anything need to be fixed or replaced?
  • What volunteer(s) needs an encouraging word this week?
  • Who can we personally thank this week? [This is usually done with a handwritten note.]

When moving forward in planning for what’s coming up, I typically ask one or more of these questions, depending on what we’re working on:

  • What events are coming up this week?  What prep needs to be made?
  • Are there any supplies that need to be replenished/purchased/ordered/borrowed?
  • What needs to be communicated to our volunteers?
  • What needs to be communicated to parents (via email, snail mail, newsletter, social media or website)?
  • Who’s responsible for what? What are the action steps?

Keep the conversation going!  What questions are asked at your team meetings?

Preparing for Move Up Sunday

Kathie Phillips

move-up-sunday 2015

My team and I have been busy preparing for our Move Up (Promotion) Sunday this weekend.  There’s always a lot to do to make sure that everything – and everyone – is ready to go!  Can you relate?

Here is a snapshot of how we’ve prepared:

Volunteers

Everything from recruiting to our kick-off event to making sure paperwork is up-to-date, everything related to staffing our classrooms and equipping those leaders ramps up in the month of August.  We want to make sure that those who are partnering with us in classrooms and small groups are well-equipped and supported to do the work that God has called them to (through large group venues like our kick-off event or one-on-one over coffee or a meal).  This step is crucial to our overall ministry’s success.

Curriculum & Supplies

During the summer months, we declutter our storage closets and inventory supplies so that they can be restocked.  This summer, we’ve ordered worship equipment, items for small groups (colorful rugs, games, walkie talkies for each classroom and members of our security team, and books for leaders), craft supplies, electronic check-in printer labels, storage bins and other essentials.

We also plan our lesson schedules for the year, edit curriculum, print lessons and activity pages and other curriculum-related tasks.

Physical Spaces

A year of ministry can take a beating on our physical spaces, so each summer we spruce up classrooms and hallways by updating signage, purchasing equipment and painting.  This year, we’re so excited that our Nursery hallway and welcome areas will be painted in fun, inviting colors in time for Move Up Sunday!  We also take a look at room/space configurations to make sure that traffic flows well and that space is maximized as much as possible.

Parent Communication

Move Up Sunday is a big Sunday for us (there are lots of moving parts and lots of people to move), so we want to make sure that parents know what to expect.  This means communicating through every avenue possible, such as our website, our church’s Facebook page, our ministry’s Facebook page, email, electronic newsletter, and environmental signage.  On Move Up Sunday, we’ll have additional volunteers on hand who will greet and direct families to the right rooms.  These volunteers will be wearing an Ask Me! name tag (and a smile) and have a clipboard with the room numbers and assignments to make this transition go as smoothly as possible.

Prayer

As a staff team as well as individually, we commit Move Up Sunday to prayer.  Things we cover in prayer include, but are not limited to:

  • Protection for volunteers (against sickness for them or their children, transportation, etc.)
  • New families
  • Children entering a new classroom environment
  • Anxiety (for parents, children, new volunteers)
  • Excitement for the beginning of a new ministry year
  • Stamina, rest, and contagious energy for our staff team

There are just a few last-minute details to tend to and then we’ll be ready!  It’s going to be a great year!

Keep the conversation going!  Leave a comment below to share how you prepare for Move Up Sunday.  You can also upload pictures of your ministry spaces on our Facebook page.

A Peek Inside our Luau-Themed Volunteer Training

Kathie Phillips

This past Sunday, we hosted our annual Children’s Ministry volunteer training.  It was the second year that we’ve themed this event.  Last year, our theme was a tailgate.  This year, we chose to do a Hawaiian Luau.  It was so much fun and very well-received by our volunteers.

CM_LUAU1

This year, we wanted to include not only new and returning volunteers but those considering serving in our ministry as well.  We had a packed room full of adults and students who responded to God’s call to join us in ministry this year.  This was also the first year that we held our training on a Sunday after our morning services rather than a weeknight.  We have found that having folks stay around when they’re already at church (and giving them lunch!) yields a much better turnout.

Guests arrived to a large room at our church that was decorated with Hawaiian flowers, leis, tiki bar backdrop and tropical colors (orange, yellow, lime green, hot pink and purple).  Once inside the room, guests were welcomed, encouraged to pick up necessary paperwork, given a ticket for the chance to win fun prizes and allowed to choose a lei to wear.

Luau - pic 2
Ministry area handbooks, adult applications (white) and student applications (purple)

Guests were then invited to help themselves to a delicious lunch buffet, which consisted of:

  • Footlong sub sandwiches (turkey, ham and veggie)
  • Potato chips
  • Edible beach balls (cheese balls)
  • Fresh fruit cups
  • Cookies
  • Hawaiian Punch and bottled water

Our tables were set with a simple centerpiece (a glass bowl filled with play sand, seashells and votive candles that we had on hand).  Under each bowl was a sheet of chalkboard paper and pieces of chalk.  At each set, we placed a “Say Yes to the Next Generation” notepad and a personalized pen.

After a little while of fellowship around the tables, we started with the business of the day.  You can download our event outline here.

Here are a few of Pinterest-inspired ideas we used:

For even more ideas, check out my KidMin – Luau Pinterest board.

I wonder what next year’s theme will be…

It’s your turn to share!  What fun volunteer training themes have you done?  I’d also love to see your pictures!  Upload them to our Facebook page.

7 Things to Remember When a Parent Expresses a Concern

Kathie Phillips 4 Comments

When a parent expresses a concern

Months ago, I drove my niece to school and was very alarmed about her safety (and those of her classmates) at drop-off time.  Because of my concerns, I emailed the principal and the PTA President and eagerly awaited a response.  Three weeks later (yes, three weeks later), this is the exact response I received from the PTA President:

“I am not sure if you have received a response from the administration. Please feel free to attend our meeting this Thursday at 6 p.m. to discuss your concerns with drop off.”
As a former PTA President, I found this email appalling for so many reasons but I won’t go into all of that here.  In a nutshell, I found this to be a missed opportunity for the PTA President to properly invite me into a dialogue about the issue, among other things.  As a ministry leader, I found it equally appalling.  I would have never addressed a parent’s (or aunt’s!) concerns this way.
Here are a few things I was reminded of as a leader who communicates with parents who have expressed a concern:
Don’t brush it off.  When a parent takes the time to express a heartfelt concern in a non-confrontational way, address it.  Don’t ignore it or discount it.  So maybe the parent expressing the concern isn’t volunteering in the ministry.  In my opinion, it really doesn’t matter.  Addressing it – or not – speaks volumes to those we serve.
Take a deep breath if the concern is expressed harshly.  When a parent feels their child’s safety is at risk, emotions tend to run high.  So take a deep breath and hold off on returning that phone call, pressing “send” on that email, or spewing off a defensive response (but don’t wait three weeks).  Pray and ask God to give you the right words to say and the right attitude to say them.  Remember the words of Proverbs 15:1: “A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.”
Respond in a timely fashion.  Personally, I felt that the three weeks that passed between my original email and the response was too long.  Not hearing back sooner, even acknowledging that the email had been received, was disappointing.  As a leader, aim to respond within 24-48 hours.
Listen to them.  What is the heart of the matter?  What are they really communicating?  When listening to a parent, listen without trying to come back on the defense.  Sure, we think we’re taking all of the necessary steps to keep our ministry safe but maybe there is something that isn’t on our radar.
Address them by name.  If you know me well, you know that nothing gets under my skin more than an email that doesn’t address me by name.  I felt a bit disrespected being addressed that way.  When addressing a parent’s concern, address them by name and, if meeting in person, look them in the eye when talking to them.
Value their opinion and invite them to be part of the next steps.  Believe it or not, not all of the policies and procedures we’ve implemented in our ministry have been ideas that I’ve come up with.  It’s been a collaborative effort.  If their concern is valid, invite them to be part of the process and work together to come up with a solution.  A few questions to get you started would include:
  • Is there an existing policy or procedure in place that is not being enforced?
  • Is there no existing policy or procedure in place but needs to be?
  • Is an existing policy or procedure in place but outdated?
  • Is there an existing policy or procedure in place but the parent doesn’t know it exists?

Thank them for coming to you.  Yes, it’s true that some parents nit-pick about every little detail and are quick to point out every single flaw in your ministry.  But for the most part, a parent that comes to me with a valid, heartfelt concern, speaks volumes to me.  I want to help them.  Why?  Because I value them and want their support.  Remember: a healthy ministry is a partnership between church and parents.

By keeping these things in mind, you will create a culture where parents are able to express their concerns, be heard and valued, and be a true partner in the ministry.

Keep the conversation going!  What tips do you have in handling parental concerns?  Share your ideas below!

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